I like it.

But if you remove them then the remaining lever will open even wider... likely too wide to be comfortable for all but the largest hands.

Positioned and adjusted properly the suicide levers work perfectly fine. Back in the day I used 'em... but not often from the tops of the bars, mostly from the sides, a couple inches short of the hoods. There is virtually no flex from this position... very solid feel.

Nice bike.

The OP can get Tektro Levers 341. This is a smaller lever design for smaller hands.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=sr_1_2&sr=8-2

Here's a better view of the same bike in the men's version https://stlouis.craigslist.org/bik/5238608401.html It looks as though it is original and may have been stored for a lot of years. Those are the original pedals that would come on the bike. My guess is late 70s to early 1980s because it used the downtube shift levers and the brands for the components. Sakae and Suntour both went out of business and the names were bought out. They are made in Taiwan by a conglomerate these days.

There's a lot to check on the bike. Are the tires sound? If they are more than 6 - 8 years old, they probably should be replaced. Ditto for rubber brake pads, covers for the brake handles, and grips. The grease in all of the places where you have bearings has likely hardened. The very least you should clean and regrease the bearings in the wheel hubs. Check all of the cables to make sure they move freely in the housing and are not frayed. It is well worth taking a bike like this and refurbishing. Even though it may be "old school" with somewhat outdated components it will be far better than any entry level bike you were previously looking at.

It's worth buying an inexpensive ($40 postpaid) bike repair kit on eBay like this one so you have all of the tools to do maintenance on the bike Universal Bicycle Home Mechanic 44 PC Tool Kit Set Repair with A Case | eBay You can see tutorials for how to do maintenance on youtube, at the Park Tool Company website or at the Sheldon Brown website Sheldon Brown-Bicycle Technical Information and Repair Help Articles - Park Tool

All I can see is Sakae SA and Suntour a-3000. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong spot?

[MENTION=47751]VegasTriker[/MENTION] the shop replaced the cabling completely and serviced it.

It's now sitting in my living room :D

And if you do change anything on it, you might want to save the old stuff. If somebody wants to buy it, they may want the classic stuff that you didn't want.

GH

Good thinking. As of now, I'm going to ride it for awhile before making any changes. Aside from this being the first 'geared' bike I've ever ridden, it seems pretty comfortable so far.

Thank you so much to everyone for your input. I have a lot of information here to work with. Much appreciation.

UPDATE:

I rode a quick 5 miles on it yesterday after work. Very different that riding my cruiser. I now see the pros and cons between the two.

It rode really well although I was a bit wobbly due to the fact that I have never been on anything with gears or such narrow wheels before, but so far I absolutely love it! The breaking seems to work well and it shifts well too. I do miss my cruiser seat though. Owww!

I can't wait to get her out on my regular route later.

[MENTION=422551]YogaKat[/MENTION]. Congratulations on your new bike, hope you enjoy it. However I have to tell you, you already need a new bike :D
I saw on another of your post that you are planning to get into racing so this bike wont be the best candidate to race. But it is very normal for people on this forums to own more than 1 bike and ride them according to the activity they are doing. N+1 is the formula that determines the number of bikes you are planning to have, where N can be any infinite number.
Good luck, enjoy and have fun.

Thanks! I completely agree with you. This is basically my starter bike while I find the precioussss. It give me time to learn to ride a geared bike while I search for a better one. Planning on using my Christmas money to upgrade from here. I'm kind of thinking I may need to build a bike garage in the back yard if this keeps up. haha

Congrats on the "new" bike @YogaKat, that is is a very cool lugged frame. I love those old mixte frames and the twin top tubes are sweet. If it fits you, it is a keeper.

As an added bonus it has vertical dropouts, so it could be easily converted to singlespeed or dare I say, fixed gear - should you ever want to come over to the dark side.

We need moar pics please.

I believe you mean "horizontal dropouts." (And "more.")

Thanks @rex615

I've been riding a single speed cruiser until now so I guess I'm already a member of the dark side. In fact, I think I've even passed out cookies.

I will be taking more pictures soon.

Thanks, I absolutely stand corrected, I should have said horizontal dropouts. Coffee hasn't kicked in yet.

Unfortunately, "moar" was intentional as a poor attempt at humor.:)

Little-known fact: mixtes were designed with a longer head tube (but without a correspondingly increased effective top tube length) for a given nominal frame size (i.e., seat tube length).

It's an intelligent approach for accommodating shorter riders, who might otherwise be unable to be fitted easily on a bike with full-size wheels.

:p I was jokingly referring to fixed gear. I know of your exploits and prowess on a singlespeed. And you are right, SS is certainly dark side enough.

Well I am currently wearing my Star Wars t-shirt. haha

Saddles are personal. Some work for some people, some for others. But as well as having the right saddle (the wide part needs to be wide enough so your sitbones can perch on it, rather than you ending up with your weight on the nose of the saddle, which is painful) you also need it to be correctly positioned. Start with it perfectly flat and then decide whether it needs to be moved forward or back relative to the handlebar. Make small incremental adjustments. You'll get there. If the saddle is OK the "sit bone ache" will go away after a week or two.

It isn't the narrow wheels that make you wobbly, it's the unfamiliar riding position and the need to get used to changing gear. You'll be fine with an hour or two's practice.

Put a couple of thousand miles on that and by the time you get the road bike, you'll be flying.

Thanks for the tips about the saddle [MENTION=195034]chasm54[/MENTION]

I'm about to go shopping for some accessories to add to my new girl. Firstly a water bottle, since there is not 'cup holder.' :)

LOL. I think you'll find the bottle cage more useful. :)

The problem with "If it fits..." is that you are 5ft! Any bike with full size wheels might be a problem.

The turkey levers help you ride a bike that's too big. But if you find you use them all the time then you need a shorter reach, and this is a style of bike that also looks great with swept handlebars. Here's one on my local CL. If swept handlebars wind up too high you can also find them with no rise or flip them upside down.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=481700

One recurring thing I've seen (@bike Shop) in the rear brake on Mixtes like that ,

Is water draining into the up turned U of the housing, and rusting and then the brake stops working

new stainless steel cable and new housing , And greasing the cable for good measure

Plus using a rubber cable bellows boot, that is now common on V brakes between the 2 arms of that side pull Brake

all to try to slow and resist the ill effects of water entering the cable section.
(Mid stay mounted center pull brakes did not have this issue, like the blue one above)


May like a pull back upright handle bar better than the drop bars ..

you can change the big chainring to smaller ... that looks like a 110 type, so 34t and larger.. ie 34-46.

unless a garage queen , never ridden .. chain+ new freewheel ..

fresh brake shoes . KoolStop Continental model is perfect on those.

Here's one with a new saddle that I installed before going out on today. Wow, huge comfort difference!!!

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=481720

Keep an eye on the tire sidewalls. If there is cracking or crazing visible on the sidewall, it is time for new tires. Those are called "gum wall" or "skinwall" tires referring to the natural rubber strip making up the sidewall. They start out lighter in color than what I see on your bike and that is a sign of aging. I didn't know they still made them but Niagara Cycle where I do a lot of my online bike parts ordering has several in the old 27" X 1+1/4" or 27" X 1+1/8" size common on 70s and 80s road bikes. You can see the original color here: Kenda K35 27 x 1-1/4 Skinwall Tire

I've seen that saddle before. If you start having trouble with saddle sores, remember that going to a smaller/harder saddle after your rear end becomes accustomed to the bike may be the right thing to do.